During its recent annual meeting in the Dutch metropole of Amsterdam, Plastics Recyclers Europe (PRE, Brussels / Belgium; www.plasticsrecyclers.eu) confirmed that plastics recycling continues to grow. Commenting on the sector, PRE's recently re-elected president – see Plasteurope.com of 28.11.2013 – Ton Emans, noted, "The coming years will bring radical changes in the plastics recycling industry. We need measures to create a market for recycled plastics so that the market pulls recyclable plastics out of the landfills."

Citing the association’s recently released "Study on increased mechanical recycling target for plastics" – see Plasteurope.com of 18.09.2013 – Emans reiterated that a plastics recycling target of 62% for all of Europe is a realistic goal, which, he said, can be achieved by 2020.

More than 170 participants attended the annual meeting, with PRE also celebrating its 100th member, Dutch producer of secondary materials Coolrec (Dordrecht; www.coolrec.eu). The organisation currently counts 114 member companies in total. The event saw a number of speakers, including Anna Wieslander, range and category leader at furniture maker Ikea (Leiden / The Netherlands; www.ikea.com), who said the company is looking for recycling partners as part of an overall goal to raise the recyclate content in its products.

Representatives of the European Parliament and the European Commission also emphasised that both institutions are pursuing the goal of higher recycling rates in the union, aiming to breach the 70% barrier in the coming years. Giving PRE’s view of the matter, Emans said, “The market barriers restricting the use of recycled plastics should be lifted by the upcoming revision of the European waste legislation.”